The Freeloader Squad stood guard outside Shiyun's room.
Liang, their captain, had broken down in tears when he heard they were serving as Privates Second Class. He prostrated himself before me, pleading for them not to be treated so roughly and saying he didn't care what happened to him as long as Shiyun was respected.
No, he had it all wrong.
I desperately tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but it was an uphill battle. Then, Shiyun appeared.
She was a goddess!
"Liang, for the future of the Taikyoku Nation, I am studying the military, culture, politics, and diplomacy of the Galactic Empire and Latarnia. I am not being treated poorly. In fact, I have already learned why you were unable to disobey your orders. That is the nature of the military. Therefore, I will not punish you or your men. Liang, you did the right thing. It was for the greater cause."
"H-haah—!!"
Well, okay then.
I could understand his sentiment, though. Normally, you wouldn't have a member of the Imperial Family serving as a private. Explaining that the safest place was actually by the side of Tatiana—a Jester—was too complicated to get into.
Instead, I told Liang it was "Galactic Empire-style Imperial Leadership Training."
Shiyun seemed to be getting into the swing of things; she had started asking Liang deliberate questions about Latarnian tactics. Thinking he was being personally trusted by the Next Emperor, Liang researched the subject like a man possessed to give her the best answers possible.
Through these exchanges, Liang eventually convinced himself that Shiyun was receiving a high-level education.
Mission accomplished. Heh.
"Liang-san, how is life here?" I asked.
"Sir! Your Excellency! Thanks to you, not a single person has complained!"
"Is that so?"
"However..."
Uh-oh.
"Regarding Princess Shiyun..."
Shiyun, Tatiana, and One-oh-one were currently pushing a cart of buckets while wearing rubber gloves. It was their turn for Toilet Cleaning Duty. Behind them, some female soldiers from Liang's unit were helping out under the guise of guarding them.
"Hey, Shiyun! Liang-san says he has business with you."
"Understood! Liang, what is it?"
"That!!" Liang barked.
Wait, what?
"The Next Emperor on toilet duty?! Have you people lost your minds?!"
"What? It's just the women's restroom."
"The cleaning is the problem!!"
I sighed. "Look, I did my shift two days ago."
"That’s exactly what I'm calling crazy!!"
On this ship, everyone took turns regardless of rank—that was my Wifey’s policy. Even she did her share.
Well, except for the cooking... if we let her cook, people’s lives would be at stake. We basically had to beg her to stay away from the stove. It wasn't that her food was bad, exactly... she just hadn't done it before.
But when it came to meals, nobody was willing to compromise.
My Wifey had been in a foul mood about it, shouting, "I'll definitely make you eat your words later!" before going off to learn from Nina-san.
I hoped she’d be okay. I was worried she’d cut her hand.
Anyway, Shiyun—who was already a pro—was scrubbing away with a toilet brush. Tatiana was acting as the Toilet Attendant, while One-oh-one used her superior strength to scrub the floors. The female soldiers helped out as well.
Liang, unable to enter the women's restroom, could only appeal to me with tears of blood in his eyes. How did I know? Because I was the one supervising.
He still looked resentful.
"Making that face won't change anything," I told him. "Doing various tasks helps you understand how the world works. Society is built on the mundane, after all."
To be honest, Liang had been against her even making her own bed. He didn't even want her to dress herself (though Imperial regalia was an exception since you literally couldn't put it on alone). Ironing, cleaning toilets, and meal prep were blasphemy to him.
"The Galactic Empire... how terrifying!"
I suppose so. In the Japanese-descended Civilization of the Empire, cleaning time was a staple of school life. The culture was built around doing things for yourself.
"Liang-san, I think the real surprises are still to come."
"What?"
There was that face again. I wasn't doing this to be a jerk, I swear.
After the morning's work, we were scheduled to port at a Latarnian spaceport in the evening. Since we were refreshing the water supply, we headed to the pool.
"S-s-s-s-s-s-swimming?! You mean... swimming?!"
"Exactly. If you can't swim, you’re in trouble during an emergency."
Shiyun’s gender wasn't an issue since both boys and girls wore Rash Guards. Tatiana and One-oh-one were doing rescue training, which included Swimming in Clothes.
Shiyun started with the absolute basics: putting her face in the water. Once she mastered that, she moved on to flutter kicks with a Kickboard.
Then, there was us.
We were in the deep end, practicing Weight Retrieval Training. Technically, the Space Marines fell under the Navy, so we had to do this kind of thing.
"Nnnnngh!!"
I hauled the weight up with sheer willpower. Even for me, it was brutal. Ren and the modified human crew handled it like it was nothing, though.
"Y-Your Excellency... is this normal for this ship?" a shell-shocked Liang asked.
"Wheeze... cough... It’s normal. Actually, this is stuff we should've done at the academy; we’re just catching up."
"A-ha... haha... Could you please, perhaps, spare Lady Shiyun from this...?"
"Our training is for rescuing drowning comrades or civilians. Shiyun is just learning to stay afloat."
"I-I see..."
"Next time, Liang-san, you're taking over."
"Wait, what?"
After a quick recovery involving nanomachines and energy bars, we headed to Master Katori's Dojo.
"Liang-san, you’re in charge of Shiyun."
"Indeed! I'm counting on you!" Shiyun added.
"Sir!!"
Shiyun began learning martial arts from the soldiers in Liang's squad. It was important to preserve her traditional culture. Martial arts weren't just about strength; they were a product of a nation's history. It was only right that she started with her own roots.
That part was fine. The problem was my roots.
"Guhahahaha! I was starting to get soft! Come here, Leo!!"
"I'm winning today, sensei!!"
It was the usual roughhousing with Master Katori. Liang looked like he was about to faint.
"Liang, Leo and Master Katori are always like this," someone explained.
"Always?! This is normal?!"
The sound of wooden swords clashing was less like wood and more like "Clang!" and "Boom!"
"Fuhahaha! Die, Katori-sensei!!"
"You die first!!"
"I want to be that strong too!" Shiyun said, watching us.
"I... I think they’ve stopped being human, my Lady... but... yes, let's aim for that..."
"Yes!"
It seemed like another massive misunderstanding had taken root.
It’s normal. Really.